photo: Matt Zambonin/IIHF
Sidney Crosby tied a World Championship record with four assists in the third period to lead Canada to a 5-1 win over Denmark this afternoon in Fribourg.
The win represents a small measure of revenge for last year when the Danes stunned Crosby's Canadians, 2-1, in the quarter-finals. And, just like last year, today's game was without a goal after two periods.
The only other player in IIHF history with four assists in a period is Sweden's Mats Sundin, who set the record in the third period of a May 8, 1994 game against the United States.
The win puts Canada in first place of Group B with a 3-0 record while the Danes, 0-3, languish in 8th place.
"It was kind of the same as last year for the first two periods," offered Danish assistant captain Mikkel Aagaard. "We tried not to make too many mistakes, but today they got a lucky bounce in the third and they scored. Then the next shift, we maybe tried too hard to get it right back and they score again. It's a tough loss for us, but we have to learn from it."
Porter Martone broke the 0-0 tie just 28 seconds into the third to start a three-goal outbust in three minutes. The goal came off a turnover at the Denmark blue line and then a sensational three-way passing play. Macklin Celebrini found Crosby near the goal, and 87 got the puck to Martone behind the play with nothing but net to shoot at.
Gabriel Vilardi made it 2-0 just two and a half minutes later with a clever play, pushing the puck under the stick of Morten Poulsen before snapping it over Nicolaj Henriksen's glove.
Celebrini and Crosby were at it again on the next shift. The 19-year-old captain came blazing in over the Denmark line, dropped it to Crosby, who got it to Denton Mateychuk for the pretty goal at 3:33.
Denmark got one back at 10:12 on a nice play by Nick Olesen, the man who scored the winning goal late in the third period of the quarter-finals last year in Herning. Here, he got the puck in the corner and cut in front, jamming the puck in before goalie Jet Greaves could get a stick on it.
Crosby then got his third assist of the period by one-handing the puck to Ryan O'Reilly in front for a gorgeous goal at 11:49. Number 87 got helper number four with 28.5 seconds remaining, setting up Parker Wotherspoon behind the play for a quick one-timer.
Canada outshot the Danes 38-16, but once again had a tough time penetrating the area around Danish goalie Nicolaj Henriksen.
"They're committed to defending," Crosby added. "Their game plan is to have five guys protecting the net, and they make it difficult to get in through there. And if their penalty killers are doing a good job, they have some dangerous guys who can score."
The first period was a Monday afternoon sleepy-time kind of 20 minutes. Neither team had much jump, although Canada held a decided edge in puck possession and managed a few challenging shots for Henriksen, but nothing overly taxing.
The highlight of the first was when Dylan Holloway tried to get to the front of the Danish goal. He was met with a thunderous bodycehck from Phillip Bruggisser, who rocked him to the ice.
Canada had better chances in the second, and the Danes came to life at moments, but as was the case in last year’s quarter-finals, teams went to the dressing room after 40 minutes in a goalless tie.
Crosby found Evan Bouchard in the slot, but that shot was nicely snared by Henriksen. Martone came out of the penalty box on a clean break, but he hesitated and shot into the pads of the goalie. Celebrini stole the puck at centre, but he raced in while being hounded and blasted a shot high.
Midway through the period, the Canadians thought they had finally scored. Crosby from the corner spotted Celebrini in the high slot, and the teen captain’s shot found the back of the net. Danish coach Mikael Gath, however, challenged for offside, and he was right. No goal.
Denmark’s best chance came late when Morten Poulsen made a great pass to the back side to Felix Scheel. But as Scheel tried to move out front, Greaves made a nice pokecheck to nullify the chance.
Shots were 27-9 for Canada after two periods, but it was 0-0, which was the more important stat.
Both teams now have a long break. Canada plays Norway on Thursday afternoon while Denmark faces Slovakia later that night.
The win represents a small measure of revenge for last year when the Danes stunned Crosby's Canadians, 2-1, in the quarter-finals. And, just like last year, today's game was without a goal after two periods.
The only other player in IIHF history with four assists in a period is Sweden's Mats Sundin, who set the record in the third period of a May 8, 1994 game against the United States.
The win puts Canada in first place of Group B with a 3-0 record while the Danes, 0-3, languish in 8th place.
"It was kind of the same as last year for the first two periods," offered Danish assistant captain Mikkel Aagaard. "We tried not to make too many mistakes, but today they got a lucky bounce in the third and they scored. Then the next shift, we maybe tried too hard to get it right back and they score again. It's a tough loss for us, but we have to learn from it."
Porter Martone broke the 0-0 tie just 28 seconds into the third to start a three-goal outbust in three minutes. The goal came off a turnover at the Denmark blue line and then a sensational three-way passing play. Macklin Celebrini found Crosby near the goal, and 87 got the puck to Martone behind the play with nothing but net to shoot at.
Gabriel Vilardi made it 2-0 just two and a half minutes later with a clever play, pushing the puck under the stick of Morten Poulsen before snapping it over Nicolaj Henriksen's glove.
Celebrini and Crosby were at it again on the next shift. The 19-year-old captain came blazing in over the Denmark line, dropped it to Crosby, who got it to Denton Mateychuk for the pretty goal at 3:33.
Denmark got one back at 10:12 on a nice play by Nick Olesen, the man who scored the winning goal late in the third period of the quarter-finals last year in Herning. Here, he got the puck in the corner and cut in front, jamming the puck in before goalie Jet Greaves could get a stick on it.
Crosby then got his third assist of the period by one-handing the puck to Ryan O'Reilly in front for a gorgeous goal at 11:49. Number 87 got helper number four with 28.5 seconds remaining, setting up Parker Wotherspoon behind the play for a quick one-timer.
Canada outshot the Danes 38-16, but once again had a tough time penetrating the area around Danish goalie Nicolaj Henriksen.
"They're committed to defending," Crosby added. "Their game plan is to have five guys protecting the net, and they make it difficult to get in through there. And if their penalty killers are doing a good job, they have some dangerous guys who can score."
The first period was a Monday afternoon sleepy-time kind of 20 minutes. Neither team had much jump, although Canada held a decided edge in puck possession and managed a few challenging shots for Henriksen, but nothing overly taxing.
The highlight of the first was when Dylan Holloway tried to get to the front of the Danish goal. He was met with a thunderous bodycehck from Phillip Bruggisser, who rocked him to the ice.
Canada had better chances in the second, and the Danes came to life at moments, but as was the case in last year’s quarter-finals, teams went to the dressing room after 40 minutes in a goalless tie.
Crosby found Evan Bouchard in the slot, but that shot was nicely snared by Henriksen. Martone came out of the penalty box on a clean break, but he hesitated and shot into the pads of the goalie. Celebrini stole the puck at centre, but he raced in while being hounded and blasted a shot high.
Midway through the period, the Canadians thought they had finally scored. Crosby from the corner spotted Celebrini in the high slot, and the teen captain’s shot found the back of the net. Danish coach Mikael Gath, however, challenged for offside, and he was right. No goal.
Denmark’s best chance came late when Morten Poulsen made a great pass to the back side to Felix Scheel. But as Scheel tried to move out front, Greaves made a nice pokecheck to nullify the chance.
Shots were 27-9 for Canada after two periods, but it was 0-0, which was the more important stat.
Both teams now have a long break. Canada plays Norway on Thursday afternoon while Denmark faces Slovakia later that night.
Canada vs Denmark - 2026 IIHF Men's World Championship
OF